


The World Is Singing

by J_Ace_Flicker



Series: Humans In Space [1]
Category: Humans in Space - Fandom, humans are space orcs - Fandom, humans are weird - Fandom
Genre: Aliens, Bad Science, Death, Humanity, I know a lot of science, Interspecies Romance, Introspection, Kindness, More tags to be added, Pain, Platonic Love, Psuedoscience, but like bits and pieces, i am soft, idk what to tag rn so, kind mc, queer romance, relationships, scifi, so it's gonna get hella cobbled together, soft mc, there's not enough black women in scifi, y'all better bet there's gonna be a lot of LGBTQ stuff here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-10-04 01:24:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20462744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J_Ace_Flicker/pseuds/J_Ace_Flicker
Summary: Melpomene is the only Human aboard The Nostalgia. She must overcome the perceptions of her crew, who think that she is weak and that she will only drag them down. Meanwhile, things lurk in the background. Sabotage. Will her limitations be her downfall, or will her kindness save them all?It is easy to be lost in the vastness of space, but with the stars as her guide, she will shine.





	The World Is Singing

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off of an old idea I had. This was sitting in my google docs for years so I decided to finally go ahead and post it. Dunno if I'll continue it, but I do have it plotted out.

Humans have evolved around empathy. In some ways, one can say that it is their primary purpose to be loving. They take in the offspring of other species, they aid injured creatures they happen upon, they have entire professions revolving around how the mind works and how to best help others. So, while not as strong or quick-witted or as durable as many other sentient races, humans find strength in their developed empathy. It is not necessarily a trait that they alone have developed, but it is the trait they hold the most dear.

So it’s no surprise, really, when a journey to an abandoned planet culminates into something more. The human aboard the prosperous ship,  _ The Nostalgia, _ refuses to quiet their kindness, and the universe is all the better off for it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_ Log Date: _

_ February 26th, 3040 _

_ Destination: Mal’arth _

_ Location: The Nostalgia; Nebula-Sailor 2-0-8 _

_ Approximated Time of Landing: 2 revolutions _

Melpomene was on break. She stared out into the vastness outside the ship. Not all aboard has  _ sight,  _ like the humans, but there were still windows, and she loved them all.

Silently, one of her crewmates, a Culick named Kehkch, moved to stand beside her. His nose was long and jagged, his mouth stretched across his face; he had no eyes, but antenna sprouted from their place. His large, fin like ears wriggled as he stood, at least three feet taller than her and all four of his hands on his hips, as he frowned. “You always  _ c _ ome here.” he lingered on the “c” sound, as though testing it. “Will you des _ c _ ribe to me what you see?”

It was a game, almost, that they often played. She would describe something the way she saw it, and sometimes he would as well, and then they’d quietly sit, enjoying one another’s company. It was a good thing, too, because none of her other crewmates had warmed up to her yet.

She was the only Human on board. And Humans were Dangerous. Humans were Inept.

“Well..” she stared out for a moment, trying to fit its breathtaking beauty into words. She was no poet, but she could try to be for just a moment, for a fleeting feeling. “The base is green, like the smell of freshly cut grass. And there are large sapphire-- which is a gem that is cold like smooth ice-- stars, and they pulsate like the steady inhale and exhale of breath; they’re like breathing flowers. If the blue stars are flowers, then the yellow ones are like small leaves; this yellow is like a breeze blowing warmth on your skin on a chilly day. There are red dots smattering it all, barely noticeable, like seeing the blood straight through your veins, similar to hearing your own echo when you didn’t speak: they’re all in one looping line, bright and loud before petering out.” She took a breath, “Can you see it?”

She got the impression that if Culick’s had eyes, he would be blinking his open. “I thin _ k _ I  _ c _ an.” He turned to look out the window, placing a clawed hand on the pane. “I have as _ k _ ed one of the others to do this, once.” He placed one of his blue hands on her shoulder, “They named the types of stars and gave me the names of  _ c _ onstellations and nebulae. But I  _ c _ ould not see it, no matter how I tried. Than _ k _ you.” And so he left. Kehkch was not overly fond of speaking, nor of lingering when there was work to be done.

Melpomene sighed, carefully ignoring the sneers of Xel’nda, one of many Xota’ilianths on board but by far the most obnoxious of the bunch. She wrapped the fingers of her flesh hand around her metal one. 

She was an engineer and an explorer. She’d been born missing parts and maybe the danger of her explorations had lost her some more, but her replacements were more than adequate. 

“You are xuch an attention theeker. Turn thoth thingth off already!” It was Xel’nda, of course it was. And the lovely creature snarling at her was referring to the neon lights that lined her prosthetics.

“They don’t turn of, Ensign Xel’nda. You know this.”

Xe made a series of discontented gurgles as xe grouched off. Xer dark grey skin was crinkled with age and xer three eyes were a faded blue. Xe was considered quite beautiful for xer kind, but xe was rude to most everyone and quite crass. Melpomene felt that, if she could get xer to get over her being human, they might just be friends.

_ Don’t pack-bond with the human, _ was a phrase she heard whispered in the corridors where no one suspected she lurked. She was curious and hadn’t announced her presence, so what? But it stung to be so hated when all of her was filled with love, when she had been raised by her Mama to be caring and kind and affectionate and to be spurned as a  _ typical human _ for that. It seems her crewmates thought humans came in two types: the soft and incompetent type, or the strong and wild type. The suspected her of the former.

Her comm buzzed in her ear.  _ “ ‘ooman. Er presenccceee is req’ested in the egnine roomssss.” _

_ _ “On my way,” she responded. Squaring her shoulders, she looked at the bright blue scrunchie on her metal wrist and yanked it off, tying her hair into a tight bun. 

Her crew didn’t believe in her, but that was okay. Most people didn’t. Humans doubted her because of her dark skin and her womanhood and her optimism. Other Sentients doubted her because she was Human. So, the solution was simple, really. She was Head Engineer and that meant she was excellent with her maths.

She would simply prove them wrong. She always did, in the end.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed it, please let me know! I'm open to hear about any Humans Are Weird/Space Orcs headcanons as well, because I love talking about this stuff!
> 
> Additional thoughts:  
I keep trying to type her name as Melpo/meme/ and would like to die.  
Xel'nda, ultimate PTA parent.


End file.
